And arthur s



Sept. l1, 1928.

' F. FRSTER PORTABLE BUILDING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25, 1925 ffii;

@jlb/muy@ Patented Sept. 1,1, 1928. i

vPATENT OFFICE.

salem rnsrnn, or BUDAPEST, HUNGARY.

PORTABLE BUILDING.

vApplication led April 23, 1925, Serial No. 25,202, and in Hungary lay 22, 1924. I l

This invention relates to portable buildings of the knock-down type. More particularly; it relates to a knock-down building that can be readily assembled from structural elements composedof box-framed metal wall sections.

Repeated attempts have been made in the past to construct knock-down houses from metal units manufactured at the factory and transported to the scene of construction as portable lbuildin units. Numerous as such attempts have een and simple as such schemes have seemed, actual realization of a. successful form of construction is difiicult because the finished building 'must be such as will satisfy the requirements of people of moderate means as regards solidarity, cleanliness, satisfactory heat insulation, and other properties necessary for a substantial house. In addition, of even greater importance is the fact that the manufacture and assembling of such houses should be at such a cost that the entire house can he set up completemore cheaply than can a brick, concreteor frame building of slmilar slze.

Recognizing the importance of such considerations I have constructed a knock-down type of building composed of structural elements that are made at the factory in the desired form and to the desired dimensions required by the purchaser. Each structural element constitutes a wall section of ,boxframe cbnstruction, and is adapted at `its edges to be joined to other -sections to pro- .I vide a complete wall. f

The wall sections may he made up' of Wooden skeleton fra mes covered on both sides with metal sheathing. The space between the metal sheathing is filled with insulating material such as wood wool, sawdust, excelsior, or the like. The edges of the sections may carry tie bolts or equivalent forms of fas'- tenng means for easily connecting the sections together.

The general construction of the sections is such that they can be readily made up'at thev factory and transported to the point of construction. The thickness of the wall and the dimensions of the various sections depend upon the type and requirements of the building to be set u In all cases, however, the method of j oinmg the sections together is by means of screw bolts. No nailing or other permanent form of fastening is required.

For a more detailed explanation of my invention reference is made to the following drawings and description wherein two em-I bodiments of the invention are illustrated aud described.

Fig. 1 is a sectional View of a wall sec tion on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of one form of wall section including a window opening.

Fig. 3' is an elevation of another form ol .wall sect-ion also including a window opening.

Fig. 4l is a transverse sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

`In the form shown in Figs.- 1 and 2, thc wooden frame is made up ofthe uprights and stringere 9 braced by the transverse am1 longitudinal members 4 and 5. As show; 1n Fig. 1 the members9 and 5 constitute-th heavy supporting timbers for the frame and the members 4, the bracing members. Over the entire frame is secured the metal sheathmg 1 and 2 to form a double walled unit. In the spaces 10 between the frame members and the metal sheathing is-stuffed the insulating material 6. For sections designed to include windows, a space 8 is provided .and the timbers joined in a. manner similar to that shown inNFig. 2. 'Other sections may be without such spaces andstill others may be provided with door space. In all cases the framing is done in accordance with the principles of carpentry involved in such construct-ions.

Joining of the' sections is accomplished by use of the bolts 11 socketed in the side frame members 9. The bolts 11 are of. suicien't length to pass through holes 12 provided in the adjacent edges of the adjoining section. Each section is provided on one side with the bolts and on the other with the openings for receivinol the bolts of the adjacent section. The sectlons may be drawn up tight by the usual nuts or vother tightening means applied to'. the bolts.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4 differs in the frame construction although the neral features are still the same. Instea of a frame having heavy uprights and stringers braced by transverse members, Fig. 3 illustrates a frame having heavy strmgers and a plurality o/lighter weight uprights. The metal sheathin is consequently applied in differentv fas 'on as shown in Fig. 4. In vthis case, the metal is stamped or pressed to fit around a portion of each Patented Sept. 11, 192.8.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DREXEL HILL, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF ;[NCREASING THE EFFICIENCY- OF ZEOLITES IN THE TREATMENT OF WATER.

No Drawing.

ter a minimum alkalinity before passing it through the beds of Zeolite, the degree of alkalinity being preferably sufficient to neutralize any acidity, as from free CO2, and

further sucient to maintain the total alkalinity in solution in the raw Water to or above a minimum value below which the zeolite deteriorates.

Further purposes Willvappear in the speciication and in the claims.

We have found in practice that the total content of replaceable sodium oxide in the zeolite may be varied and to a certain extent controlled by alkalinity, a zeolite normally tending to take up sodium oxide from solutions strongly alkaline. and to give 0E sodium oxide into solutions of very low alkalinity and that the zeolite deterioration is incident to the tendency to give olf sodium oxide, a `tendency preventable by increasing the alkalinity.

Thus in a solution of very loW alkalinity 'i We have found that there is a distinct tendency for sodium oxide from the Zeolite to pass into the solution. This is true Whenever the alkalinity of the solution is below a certain minimum value. This is of course intensified if instead of merely lovv alkalinity the solution be rendered actually acid by the presence of free CO2. If the alkalinity be increased or if the acidity be neutralized and the solution be then made alkaline suliiciently, equilibrium is established and Wasting of the Naz() no longer takes place.

Where there is insuiicient alkalinity and consequent Wastage of Naz@ from the zeolite the remaining zeolite is relatively high in silica and low in NazO. We have found this resultant zeolite to be inferior for softening purposes and that the inferiority is more Application led January 17, 1924. Serial No. 686,934.

noticeable the less the amount of Na20 present.

It is our purpose to maintain alkalinity of the solution treated at or above that which corresponds With this equilibrium value.

Zeolites are substances adapted to' baseexchange. They are usually sodium or iron aluminate silicates and are used extensively for softening Water forl many domestic and technical purposes. i

`Water softening normally comprises replacing the undesired bases of lime, magnesia, etc., in the Water by an alkali base, usually sodium from the zeolite. In the zeolite process the exchange of base takes place in a' filter bed of zeolite, loosely bound sodium base of the Zeolite filter being exchanged for the undesired bases of the ravv Water. As the process continues the available baser-fof the Zeolite is gradually used up by replacement and the bed loses its effectiveness. After the effectiveness has been reduced to any desired limit the bed is cut out and is regenerated by Washing in strong salt solution.

Prior to our invention the process With some Waters has been handicapped by Wasting and disintegration of the zeolite filter Which has lost a considerable portion 0f its available sodium content Without replacement by the hardness bases of the raw Water. In this Wasting process the Zeolite has been permanently injured as a Water softener, some of its sodium content passing to solution and the remainder, after the loss of the sodium, losses its hard character and is less Suited to base-'exchanging and therefore less adapted to Water softening and to regeneration.

We have found that this Wasting has been incident to the treatment of Waters low in alkalinity and to Waters containing free CO2, and that the Wasting may in either case be prevented or controlled by the addition of 'an alkaline base to the ravv Water. Sodium carbonate and caustic soda give good results.

Our invention lessens disintegration and sludging of thel zeolite and (incident-to a direct loss of sodium content from the'zeolite into the Water) a loss of its zeolitic characteristic of base-exchange, lthe character- WOLCOTT C. FOSTER, OF RUTHAERIFORD, NEW JERSEY, AND ARTHUR S.A GARRETT, 0F

istic which adapts it to Water softening and to regeneration.

We have found that where a zeolite bed is fed with water of constitution of the zeolite strongly alkaline the sodium content of the zeolite relatively increases possibly with -corresponding decrease in the water confound that there is no material tendency for a bed to lose its sodium exchange power with incidental wasting into the water if the alkalinity of the water is equal to or greater than a fairly low value readily determined by experiment, a value that is a function of the zeolite used.

An obvious advantage of our invention further than stoppin@ wasting of the zeolite is the lengthened lire of the beds and the increase in the quantity of water that may be cared for by a given bed before it has to be cut out for regeneration.

lin order to facilitate the claiming of our invention and to avoid the necessity for referring to waters low in alkalinity and'hav- I ing acidity in each claim, we shall use the expression low in alkalinity in the claims to refer not only to those waters which are alkaline, though having low alkalinity, but to neutral waters' and waters rendered acid by free CU2 as these are obviously low in alkalinity.

ln view of our invention and disclosure, modification and variation in detail to suit individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art and we claim all such broadly in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit .and scope of our invention.

insane? Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Let'- ters Patent is 1. ln water softening, the process of treating raw waters having low initial alkalinity which consists in treating the raw water with a salt which is alkaline in solution until a predetermined standard of alkalinity is reached and in subsequently filtering it through zeolite while the water still has increased alkalinity.

2. ln using zeolites in water softening, the process of protecting the zeloite from wasting when used in waters of low alkalinity which consists in adding to the initial `alkalinity and in subsequently passinn it through the zeolite while it possesses a ditional alkalinity.

3. ln using zeolites in water softening, the process of protecting the Zeolite'from wastwhich consists in continuously adding to the initial alkalinity by a salt of an alkali metal which is alkaline in solution and in subsequently passing it through the zeolite while it possesses added alkalinity.

4f. 'lhe process of protecting zeolites in the treatment of waters having low alkalinity which `consists in increasing the alkalinity ing when used in waters of low alkalinity l to or above a predetermined'standard found for a given zeolite and in subsequently passing it through the zeolite while it possesses increased alkalinity.

5. The process of protecting zeolite in the liltration through it of waters having a low alkalinity which consists in increasing the alkalinity until phase equilibrium has been reached between the water and the zeolite with respect to the total metallic oxide equivalent in the zeolite.

WOLCOTT C. FOSTER. ARTHUR S. GARRETT.- 

